Glowing Angel
by Empress Akitla
Summary: During a fight with Rudy, Buck winds up in a secluded part of the dino world. After getting injured he seeks shelter in a cave only to find that he's not alone. Someone else is living in the Glowing Forest and she's not the friendliest creature alive...
1. Trapped

**Don't know if I'll continue posting chapters here. I was just writing this for mine and my sister's enjoyment but if someone likes it I'll keep posting the chapters here. :)**

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**The ground was wet with rain, puddles turning to mud under the dinosaur's colossal feet. A small brown creature was running in front of him, flaunting his missing tooth. Buck was fast and smart, but Rudy knew something that he didn't. He was pushing him closer to the river and the Glowing Falls. Very few dinosaurs would hunt or even drink from that river due to the creatures living in it. The curious glow that the waterfalls emitted did little to help that fact. This was one of the very few places that Buck would not explore so it was reasonable that Rudy knew this region much better than the weasel. In fact, he hunted here most of the time. The bioluminescent glow of the water and plants was calming to him.

Buck glanced at the plants as the lighting got darker. Even though it was getting darker the farther in the two ran a soft light seemed to echo around them. Soon Buck realized that it was coming from the brightly colored plants. Their leaves and petals glowed gently with the coming of night. Then it hit him where the great white beast had driven him. A deep, flowing river blocked his path from going any further.

"Clever boy," Buck mumbled as he turned to face the Baryonyx.

Rudy growled deep in his chest. The weasel was backed up against the river, facing him. He wielded his knife in a dagger like fashion. It would do him no good now. Even if Rudy didn't kill him, the beasts in the water would. The glowing aquatic plant life gave the river a green-blue glow that reflected onto the smooth black pebbles on the shore.

He took a step forward, making Buck take a matching step back. His foot was barely in the cool water. Both of them knew what would happen if he went out any further. The weasel had seen his fair share of carnage caused by the beasts in the water. They were something that he didn't want to go face to face with. He'd be a bite sized snack for them, no matter how well he could get himself out of sticky situations.

"You wouldn't want to get rid of your best friend, right Snowflake?" Buck raised his brow as he teased the beast. If he was going to die he was going to go out in a blaze of glory and with a smile plastered on his face.

In answer Rudy dipped his head, letting a fierce roar rip from his throat. The sheer force made Buck stumbled back into the water until it was half way up to his chest. Keeping a hold on the slick black pebbles under the water was hard, no matter how hard Buck tried. If he went back any further the current would carry him away. If along the way the creatures didn't eat him, then the plummet over the Glowing Falls surely would.

"What're you waitin' for, Rudy?" Buck gave the dinosaur a crooked grin, refusing to act in despair.

Rudy narrowed his red eyes. The weasel had guts, he'd give him that. But now he was going to end their battle, once and for all time. With a slash of his claws, he knocked Buck into the middle of the glowing river. Perhaps the weasel could not see it, but from his height Rudy could catch glimpses of dark shadows beneath the surface. They darted in and out of the glowing kelp and water weeds. At this point in the river it was flowing slowly, carrying the weasel gently downstream with it. Rudy's feet sunk in the pebbles as he followed slowly, making sure he didn't slip in the water. No, the creatures in the water were too small to do any serious damage to him but he really didn't feel like getting wet right now. He watched as Buck bobbed up and down in the current, trying to swim to the opposite shore. The splashing would only attract the beasts.

Buck coughed out water and stopped trying to swim. Several times he had felt creatures from below bump into his legs or give his tail a pull. He knew that among the bioluminescent fish and eels that inhabited the river a very large species of snake called the Titanoboa also lived there. The one that lived at this particular river Buck had named Cattail. He shuddered at the thought of his first meeting with the snake.

Rudy stopped following as the river turned to rapids, leading to the frightening drop that made the Glowing Falls. The creatures hadn't killed the weasel, but the drop would. The soft green-blue glow shifted to that of a white-green the farther in the rapids Buck got. The falls themselves shifted colors, caused by the plants behind them whose colors continually melted into another. The great white dinosaur lifted his head in victory as he watched the weasel's doom get ever closer.

Buck cried out as he slammed into a rock. The river quickly pulled him away from the boulder, taking him constantly closer to the waterfalls. The falls' soft light glowed as the terrifying drop came into view. His blue eye went wide as he was dragged towards his death. Struggling only slowed the event about to take place. White mist rose from the Glowing Falls, reflecting ever so slightly the lights of the flora around it. The weasel reached for anything to keep him from plummeting over the edge. But there were no branches or rocks above the water. Suddenly his world was turned upside down as he went backwards over the falls.

Nodding in satisfaction, Rudy turned tail and stalked away from the river. The bioluminescent plants had grown brighter since the night had fully set in. Darkness covered the rest of Dino Terra, save for Lava Falls. His albino scales glowed softly with the plants. This is where he had been born, this is where he spent most of his time, and now he would remember this as the place where he had disposed of his longtime enemy.

Water churned about Buck as he fell. The falls seemed like they were never ending. He knew very well how huge the Glowing Falls were and that there were probably rocks sharpened to a fine point waiting at the bottom for him. The farther he plummeted, the darker it became. The crawling darkness made the falls glow brighter, shimmering on the slick black rocks around them. Plants down below glowed pleasantly, looking like multicolored fireflies from the height Buck was currently at. This would almost be fun if he were attached to a vine.

"It was a good fight, Rudy," Buck closed his eye as the cloud of mist at the bottom of the falls enveloped him. He hit the surging water full on.

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**What do you think? Plot develops in the next chapter. Remember, if you like it and want to see more then review so I know to post the other chapters as I write them. :)**


	2. Glowing Mushrooms

**So here's chapter 2! I hope you guys like it. I know, it's a little slow right now but chapter 3 is about half way done. :)**

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**Diego sighed in contentment as he stretched out in the warm sun. It was evening and the sun was just setting. The tiger had caught a meal and was now relaxing in the dying warmth. His joy was brought to a crashing halt as two possums ran over him.

"Crash! Eddie!" Diego rolled over and stood up. With a vigorous shake he shook snow from his fur. All good things must come to end. "What're you two doing? Everyone's supposed to be back at camp."

"We're looking for a glowing mushroom!" Eddie called back as the two disappeared into the snow laden trees.

"We're checking out the caves!" Crash added, his voice fading as they went deeper towards the abandoned caves.

Diego shook his head and started to stalk back to camp, the sun already gone. No sliver of warmth had been spared as the sky turned to a purple-orange and faded into navy blue-black. He lifted his muzzle to the heavens, gazing at the hundreds of thousands of stars dotting the night sky. The place that his 'herd' had moved to was truly beautiful and there was nothing that he wanted to change about it.

"Diego, have you seen Crash and Eddie?" Ellie asked as she settled down into a furry lump, Peaches sheltered between her tusks.

"Yeah, they were heading to the caves to look for a glowing mushroom," Diego answered slowly. What the brothers were going to do with a glowing mushroom he had no idea.

"Oh, I told those two to stay away from those caves," Ellie grumbled unhappily. "I'm afraid they might collapse or something."

"They'll be fine," Manny said as he sat next to his mate. "They're like cockroaches. You can't squish them."

Elli whacked Manny in the shoulder with her trunk, not amused with his likening her 'brothers' to insects. She was worried about them because knowing them they would get into trouble one way or another.

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Crash skittered to the top of a ledge in the dark cave. Faint light came from above, supposedly being produced by the glowing mushrooms. It reflected of the jagged rocks that composed the ceiling of the cave.

"There! The mushrooms are up there," Crash latched onto a branch and climbed higher.

"What're we getting glowing mushrooms for, again?" Eddie questioned as he followed his brother closely.

"Because we're going to play a prank on Sid," Crash snickered as he wrapped his prehensile tail around a branch higher up and hauled himself up. "Just imagine his face when he sees two glowing, 'undead' possums sneak up on him tonight."

"If Ellie catches us in these caves we'll really be of the 'undead'," Eddie pointed out, jumping to a branch covered in moss. His paws slipped, sending crashing into the rock wall.

Crash howled with laughter, climbing higher and being quickly followed by Eddie after he pealed himself off the wall. Soon the two were at the top of the cave, hanging by a branch that hung precariously from the ceiling.

"Grab a mushroom," Crash pointed to an especially fat, glowing one perched on the edge of a ledge.

"Are you kidding? I can't reach that!" Eddie protested.

"Sure you can," Crash grabbed his brother's tail and pushed him off the branch.

Eddie screamed, expecting to fall clear back down the full forty feet to the bottom of the cave. When he didn't, he glared at his brother. He reached; stretching his arm as far as it could go. The tips of his claws brushed the luminescent mushroom, but just barely.

"I still can't reach it!" He shouted and furrowed his brow. He tried again but failed miserably.

"Can you now?" Crash lowered himself on the branch, thus lowering his brother down an inch or two.

"Wait…I think I've got it," Eddie stuck his tongue out as he reached, this time his fingers grasping around the base of the mushroom. "Got it!"

"Okay, pull it out!" Crash smiled a toothy grin.

Eddie yanked up, the mushroom coming easily detached from the rocky ledge. Both brothers whooped in triumph. However, as Crash started to pull Eddie up something went wrong.

Loose stones and pebbles rattled as the walls of the cave shook. The possums recognized this to be a small tremor, caused by the volcano under the ice. Considering where they were, this usually easily ignorable tremor was transformed into something much more dangerous. The mushrooms shook and shuddered, as if blown by some unforeseen breeze. The branches tilted and dropped from their places as if they were being pulled by the paws of the tremor.

"Uh oh," both brothers simultaneously yelled as the branch they were perched on fell from its place.

They plummeted with several large stones. Clinging to each other, they screamed as they fell to their supposed deaths. With their eyes shut, the two failed to see that one of the larger stones had punched a hole in the ground. With almost perfect accuracy, the twins managed to fall right through the hole and down. They fell, and fell, and fell deeper into the land under the ice.

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**Please remember to R&R! It makes me want to write more so if you like it and want more you have to say so. :)**


	3. Washed Up

**So, here's chapter 3! I hope you like it. :)**

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**An echoing glow emanated from the luminescent plants lining the black pebbled shore of the Glowing River. Behind the outer row of glowing green leaves and vines more vibrant colors glowed. Odd, tropical plants glowed in colors ranging from pink to purple to turquoise. Shrieks of nocturnal creatures rang out through the night.

The pebbles shifted quietly as a small, being no more than three feet in length and one foot in height, Compsognathus stalked along the black shore. A small, furry creature was laying prone further down the shore. The small dinosaur had not eaten in a few days, so any food was good food. Nostrils flared, the Compsognathus approached the creature carefully. It even still smelled fresh, just a little water logged. Parting its jaws hungrily and revealing needle sharp teeth, it leaned down to take a bite.

Suddenly the body shuddered and started to choke. Yellow eyes wide, the Compsognathus turned tail and dashed back into its home called the Glowing Forest.

Bracing himself on his elbow, Buck coughed out all the water he swallowed and whatever little bit he had inhaled. His ribcage shook as he breathed in the cool air. Pain pinpricked at every part of his body, clear from his tail to the throbbing headache pounding behind his missing eye.

He looked around, his blue eye focusing on the towering falls. His mind reeled in a foggy state as he contemplated how he could survive that large of a fall.

Buck realized that he had managed to keep a firm grip on his knife. He shut his eye as he stood up, the black pebbles crunching beneath his light weight. His spine popped back into place as he stretched out. Several of his muscles protested as Buck shifted from leaning against his knife onto his legs. One muscle in particular hurt more so than the others.

"Ah," he hissed as he placed a paw gingerly on his leg. Buck shifted his gaze from the glowing plants down to the gouge across his thigh. Now he remembered what happened.

_The water churned around him. He hit the water head first and disappeared beneath the force of the falls. Giant glowing green and blue plants lined the bottom of the river. Tall, sharp spires of rocks stuck up under the falls. They threatened to skewer anything that fell._

_Buck had twisted in the water as much as he could but one of the spires still managed to stab his leg. He remembered seeing the tip break off and sink down to the bottom. The current had drug him downstream where he had not been able to hold his breath anymore. Then everything was black._

He looked up at the glowing forest. The sounds of familiar dinosaurs echoed from the glowing trees. Buck limped up to the front line of the forest, securing a slightly glowing leaf in paw and tied it around his wound.

"Wow," Buck took this time to actually look up at the towering trees draped in glowing mosses and vines. "This place sure is pretty."

The weasel did truly think that this was the most beautiful place in Dino Terra but it was also the most dangerous. Creatures, including Rudy, lived here and they also seemed a little different from the other creatures of the world under the ice. From the ones Buck had actually caught glimpses of, they were more brightly colored and sometimes larger than the others of their same species. Once, he had seen a Parasaurolophus that was no larger than the rest of its species that lived in other parts of Dino Terra but it was orange with bright purple and pink stripes that seemed to glow. The Titanoboa, Cattail, was not black like the other ones of his kind but rather a deep blue with a creamy underbelly.

Buck glanced up at the dark sky, hearing thunder and seeing lightning arc across the sky. It would start raining soon. Grumbling about his luck, the weasel glanced at the cliff face. A dark, gaping hole was tunneled in its side. Limping painfully he walked upstream from where he had washed up to the cave.

It wasn't the most inviting place but it was better than spending the night in the rain. Soft light was produced by clumps of small glowing mushrooms. The trickle of water echoed throughout the cave, seeing as there was a fairly deep creek running through the center of the ground. It glowed a subtle light blue, was about ten feet wide, and six feet deep. The farther in he walked the more Buck's leg hurt. He paused, taking a deep breath in.

A shadow appeared under the surface of the water. With a quick push of its back paws the shadow shot out of the water. Buck was easily knocked on his back but was ready to attack. He struck out with his knife.

The shadow skittered back and growled. Again it lunged. Buck slashed out with his knife, ignoring the searing pain erupting from his leg. The two small mammals fought, back and forth and back and forth.

"Would you jus' back off?" Buck shouted as he lunged, aiming his knife at the shadow's midsection.

A limb smacked down on his paw, knocking his knife from it. It clattered to the rock floor noisily. Buck made an odd choking noise as a rough paw grasped his throat and slammed him against the wall.

"What're you doing here?" A gravelly, female voice questioned as the shadow shoved Buck harder into the wall.

"I could ask you the same question," Buck gasped for air. "Let go, mate!"

He slumped to the floor, crying out as he landed on his injured leg. His blue eye caught the outline of a creature similar to him, her form being silhouetted by the glowing water. Rubbing his sore throat, he stood up and braced himself against the black stone wall. Carefully and warily he reached for his knife.

"What are you?" he asked suddenly.

"A fisher," she answered, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. "And judging by how skinny you are you're a weasel."

"An' what's wrong with being a weasel?" Buck questioned, he himself starting to feel defensive.

"Nothing," the fisher replied as she turned back to the water. "Now, you bett'r go home."

Buck's crooked jaw almost hit the ground as she dived back into the water gracefully. He sat down, the pain from his leg becoming worse. Growling to himself about getting beat up by a female he reached for one of the glowing mushrooms clumped together next to him. A giant mushroom reaching nearly six feet tall towered over him and provided an eerie light. A few more giant sized mushrooms stuck up from the cave floor along the banks of the creek.

"I wouldn't eat that if I were you."

Startled, Buck released the small mushroom and looked toward the water. The fisher was leaning half way out of the creek, her arms crossed in front of her and her chin resting on them.

"And why not?" Buck asked. He had eaten plenty of mushrooms before and they had never hurt him.

"That one will make you glow," she pointed a clawed finger to accused mushroom.

"Interesting," Buck furrowed his brow and squinted his eye, trying to focus on the fisher. "You ever eaten one?"

"Eh, one time," she hauled herself out of the water, her pelt dripping. "I glowed for a week."

"How long 'ave you been down 'ere? In the dino world?" Buck tilted his head. He thought he was the only mammal save for a few flying squirrels that lived in this hellish paradise.

"You first," the fisher crossed her arms and laid her ears back.

"I think four years," Buck stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I don't know though. I think I've kind of flipped my lid."

"When did you figure that one out?" she questioned.

"Hmm, about five months ago when I woke up one morning married to a pineapple," he answered. "An ugly pineapple. But I loved her."

"Okay then," she turned tail and got ready to go back into the water. "You might want to leave by tomorrow morning."

"I'm not afraid of the dinos out there," Buck jerked his thumb to the entrance of the cave. "Not even Cattail."

"Cattail? I have no idea what you're talking about," she paused on the lip of the black rock overhanging the creek.

"He's that beastly snake that lives in the river," Buck replied.

"Ah, you mean that Titanoboa," the fisher said in recognition. "Oh, and by the way, he's a she."

"How do you know?" he stood up, starting to feel uncomfortable on the ground.

"She has eggs in a nest on the upper level of the forest," she gestured upward with one of her paws.

"How long 'have you been 'ere?" Buck repeated his earlier question, realizing that it had not gotten answered.

"About three years," she answered and disappeared back into the glowing water. She surfaced, her fur glowing a silvery gray. "I've been living in the Glowing Forest the whole time."

"Really? I live over by the Jungle of Misery," Buck's eye went wide in surprise. He hardly ever came near the Glowing Forest yet a female fisher had lived here for three years. That was something else in his opinion.

"Eesh, you got a long way to get home before sunrise," she dipped her head back under the water.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Buck limped over to the bank of the creek and laid down on his stomach, peering into the water. He wanted to know why she was so avid that he should leave by morning.

"What?" she reappeared directly in front of a very startled Buck.

"Why do I have to leave by sunrise?" he asked.

"The beast will get you if you don't," she replied simply.

"You mean Rudy?" Buck pulled his head back in surprise. He could handle that great white beast. Besides, the brute thought he was dead.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you call him," she sunk down further into the water. "He doesn't like hunting in the denser forest at night. I think the lights might bother his eyes."

"Really? When he scratched my eye out, he relentlessly chased me through the Jungle of Misery and around the backside of the Chasm of Death," Buck folded his arms beneath his chin.

"Never been back towards that way," she shrugged her shoulders, not quite sure of the area that the weasel was talking about. "Heck, I've never been passed Lava Falls."

"Honestly? You've stayed 'ere the whole time you've been lost down 'ere?" Buck questioned.

"Who says I'm lost?" her voice turned icy. "I could return to the upper world any time I wanted but I prefer it in the Glowing Forest."

"Whatever you say, mate," Buck sat up and started to limp back towards the entrance of the cave. Luckily, the rain had stopped.

"Do you have any idea where you're going?" the fisher called to him.

"No clue!"

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**I hope my character doesn't seem like a Mary Sue but I think it's fair that since she's lived in the Glowing Forest that she knows more about it than Buck. Please remember to R&R! Thank you! :)**


	4. Mayday

**So, here's chapter 4! I know, that was quick right? Let me know what you think. :)**

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**They had been falling for what seemed like an hour when in reality it had only been a minute. Both possums landed on a huge leaf and fell onto another leaf below it. Gradually, they got closer to the forest floor until they were sitting on it.

"We're back in the dino world," Eddie groaned. Yes, it was cool down under the ice. No, he did not want to stay because of the carnivorous plants and the great white beast known as Rudy.

"Did you see where we fell?" Crash asked as he stood up, holding his tail.

"No, my eyes were closed. Did you?" Eddie replied quietly.

"My eyes were closed too," Crash looked up at the canopy of the forest. "We have to get back up there before Ellie notices we're gone."

Eddie took this opportunity to smack his brother over the head. Of course their 'sister' would notice they were gone. They could get absolutely nothing passed her.

"Are you kidding? We can't get out of here alone! We're not Buck," Eddie pointed our and crossed his arms.

It was silent for a few seconds before both of the brothers had recognition.

"Buck!"

"So we need to find him," Crash started to pace, his paw under his chin in a thoughtful manner.

A roar like thunder echoed from the west. The two hugged each other close, knowing who the roar sounded like it belonged to.

"That's Rudy," Eddie gulped, shivering.

"I bet Buck's somewhere close to him!" Crash broke away and started to run towards the sound.

"Do you think if we stayed put he'd come find us?" Eddie asked tentatively, following his brother.

"Nah, he doesn't even know we're here," Crash shook his head. "I'll bet he'll be so proud of us when we find him!"

"If we don't get eaten first," Eddie mumbled. "He may be a little angry that we followed Rudy."

"Hey! Maybe Rudy will give an eye patch like Buck's!" Crash's eyes lit up as he scurried down a vine to a lower level of rocks.

"That would be so cool!" Eddie smiled a toothy grin and leapt from the edge, landing in front of his brother. "Come on slow poke! Sid could run faster!"

Crash pushed his arms and legs as hard he could. Before long he passed Eddie who had slowed to almost a complete halt. Snickering, he turned to gloat. However, before he could say anything he slammed into the foot of something very large.

"Woe," both brothers said in unison as they turned their heads skyward. The foot turned into an ankle then into a calf then into a knee, a thigh, a hip, a back, and at the very top was a massive head.

"Shush, we have to get around him," Eddie started to back away quietly. Crash followed his lead, taking a few careful steps back. It worked out very well, that is until one of them stepped on a twig that snapped noisily.

The massive head looked down at the brothers, eyes on fire.

"We have a problem!" Eddie cried out as they took off running towards a cliff to their left.

"We've found Rudy! That's a good thing, right?" Crash called out, avoiding a giant foot as it crashed down beside him.

"Not unless Buck is here!" Eddie turned to look back at the creature.

Fog had gathered above the tree tops, making the night that much more hard to see in. The sky above the trees was an ashen color, making the beast chasing them just a giant shadow. Everything above its shoulders was masked by the thick fog.

"Hey, you know what this reminds me of?" Crash asked, jumping to the side as a tree fell where he had been previously.

"No, what?" Eddie glanced over at his brother, not even daring to slow down.

"Of Buck's story, when he was running away from Rudy," Crash stated coming to a halt at the cliff's edge. "Eddie! Slow do…"

Eddie practically ran right of the edge into the foggy oblivion below. The remaining brother panicked and looked down into the fog.

"Woe! Stop! Halt! Wait!" a series of commands rang out over the air as Eddie shot out of the fog on the back of a small Pteranodon.

"Hey!" Crash waved madly at him. "Don't forget me!"

"I don't know how to fly this thing!" Eddie called back in answer. He pulled on the creature's wing, making it bank right back towards his brother. "Jump!"

Just as a giant set of claws came down where Crash was standing, he leapt and grabbed onto the creature's legs. It jerked a bit, adjusting to the added weight. Crash craned his head to look at the beast. The shadow of it was disappearing into the fog, a giant sail on its back.

Eddie guided the Pteranodon to the nearest source of light. This happened to be a very large forest that had very luminescent plant life. Soon, visual became easier until there was no fog left at all. Looking for a clear place to land was no easy task. Suddenly, a large creature shadowed them. It dove, knocking into the Pteranodon and sending it into a spiraling nosedive.

"Mayday, mayday!" Eddie yelled as they plummeted towards the giant glowing leaves. "We're falling!"

"I can see that!" Crash clamped his eyes shut as they crashed into a tree and next to a very big, glowing purple flower.

"Uh, my head hurts," Eddie flopped off the back of creature that pealed itself off the tree, shaking its head. With a powerful flap of its wings, it took off and headed back towards the fog.

"Where are we?" Crash rolled over, looking up at all the glowing flora and fauna.

"I have no idea."

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**So let me know what you think! Please remember to R&R! Thanks for reading! :)**


	5. Noisy Nightlife

**So here's chapter 5! Wow, that was quick wasn't it? **

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**Buck was sure that something was following him. It had been about an hour since he had left the safety of the cave and ventured out into the forest. He had to head west to get home. That was the difficult part. Trees taller than any others in Dino Terra towered above the forest floor, still dripping droplets of water from the rain shower. Creatures chattered noisily in the branches. Buck looked up, seeing a few pterosaurs of different sizes along with some Compsognathus and Troodons sitting in the glowing, lichen covered branches. The slightly glowing reptiles looked down at him only for a few seconds then went back to their hunting and chattering.

"Need to catch a ride on one of them," Buck grumbled to himself as a giant bug flew overhead, being nearly as large as some of the smaller pterosaurs.

The giant leaves and ferns shuddered behind him. He turned on his heel, making sure to keep his weight on his right leg. There was nothing behind him, just swaying shrubs. Already this beautiful place was starting to give him the creeps. It seemed as if nothing made a noise when it walked. The only sign that something had passed through the shrubbery was that where the plants had been touched they were glowing brighter. The slightly glowing moss that blanketed the forest floor lit up brighter wherever Buck placed his foot and then faded away slowly.

"Goin' to be a long night," Buck shook his head, sleep dragging at his mind.

A few of the Compsognathus shrieked, running across the branches and higher up into the canopy. The pterosaurs looked at the forest floor lazily and detached from the vines they were clinging to, dropping down and taking flight. Buck looked around curiously. Usually when the smaller creatures got panicked that meant that he should usually take cover or prepare to fight and run. He could hear nothing though, nor could he see anything.

The quiet chatter came again, but farther up in the trees this time. Bugs buzzed quietly overhead, their wings beating nonstop except for when they'd land on a twelve foot tall flower. Though the noise began to pick up again, it was stiff and nervous chatter between the pterosaurs and Compsognathus.

Buck twisted his ears back; this time sure he had heard something behind him. Turning slowly, he saw the ferns part to reveal a snarling face. A medium sized carnivore stalked the rest of the way out, jaws parted and ugly teeth bared.

"Hello handsome," Buck smirked a crooked grin. He had run into this type of beast before and judging by the glowing red quests on its head, this Dilophosaurus was a male.

The Dilophosaurus snorted, standing with its legs set far apart. Lowering its head eye level with the weasel the creature growled. Buck limped back, knowing all too well that this kind of dino spit venom. He laid his ears back as he heard a gurgling noise come from the beast's throat. Jumping off to the side a split second before a sticky concoction landed where he had been before saved his life.

"Didn't your mum tell you it's rude to spit?" Buck asked, dodging flying spit balls.

Leaping into the air, the Dilophosaurus grabbed the weasel and pushed him down to the ground. Using one set of claws on one of its arms it pinned Buck's arm that held his knife, rendering it useless. Its right arm pinned his other arm down. Sharp, needle like teeth flashed in front of his face.

"Ah! Your breath reeks!" Buck cringed and turned his head away.

Just as the Dilophosaurus was about to crush his skull, a vine noosed around its snout. It turned around, releasing Buck who took this chance to run for cover.

"Yeah, I know you don't like me," a gravelly, female voice growled as a familiar figure flipped over the back of the dino. She undid the temporary muzzle and dropped the vine. "Get up the tree!"

Buck scurried up the closest tree as best he could. His leg was erupting with a new fiery pain as he found footholds to climb with. The fisher was right behind him, scaling the tree easily. She stopped when she reached a branch higher above Buck's head. Almost professionally she hooked her legs around it and flipped upside down.

"Grab my paws!" She commanded.

Buck jumped, feeling the hot breath of the Dilophosaurus as its teeth barely brushed his tail. He secured his grip on the fisher's wrists, pulling himself up easily. Once he was half up her body he grabbed the branch, flipping himself on top of it.

The fisher pulled herself up, lying on the glowing moss covering the branch. She looked down at the beast that was still trying to jump and climb the tree to get to them. Rolling her pine green eyes, she returned her attention back to Buck.

"I thought that you wouldn't make it clear to sunrise," she sat up, straddling the mossy branch. "Guess I was right."

"I could've made it," Buck protested, tucking his injured leg closer to him. "Jus' needed another second I would've gotten out of that death grip."

"Sure you would've," she shook her head, looking down at the pacing dino. "Guess I'll have to take you home." Her eyes pointedly glared at him. The fairly pleasant mood she had been seemed to disappear as the sounds of the forest returned, having gone silent during the short fight. "We have to get moving, now."

"I don't need your help getting home," Buck pointed his knife at her in a gesture.

She turned, pushing the tip of his knife down. Her fur almost glowed a silvery gray with light gray, almost white, tips at her paws, ears, and tail. Long, sharp fangs poked out of her upper lip as she spoke, "You're like a baby. You're loud and clumsy in this forest. This isn't like your Jungle of Misery. That Dilophosaurus was like a fly, the other creatures are much worse. The plants are the largest in Dino Terra and they are mean."

Buck was silent. He nodded slowly, accepting her offer. After she started to walk along the thick branches westward he followed slowly.

"I have rules, though," she held up three fingers as she walked. "One, always listen to me. Two, stay off the ground if possible. And three, never ever touch anything unless I say okay. Got it?"

"Sounds kind of like my rules," Buck chuckled, amused that the fisher's rules were so much like his own. The only difference was that she was less insane. "One, always listen to Buck. Two, stay in the middle of the trail. And three, he who has gas travels at the back of the pack."

"You're name's Buck?" she asked, getting down on all fours to climb up a narrow branch.

"Short for Buckminster, long for Buh," he gave her a crooked grin. "I never caught your name, lass."

"Frost."

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**What do you think so far? My character may get a bit more of a grouchy personality as the story goes along because that's the kind of personality I like for her. And in the next chapter or so you'll get to see a few hidden talents that both she, Buck, Crash, and Eddie possess. Please remember to R&R so I know what I'm doing right and wrong. :)**


	6. Raptors

**I know it's a short chapter but I couldn't think of much to put here but this is an important chapter. :)**

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**"Crash, what are you doing?" Eddie questioned as he paced around his brother.

"If Buck can tell everything about an animal from its footprint then I should be able to locate one," Crash replied, pressing his ear to the ground.

"Through the dirt?" Eddie narrowed his eyes, hugging himself closer as pterosaurs overhead shrieked.

"Yes, through the dirt," Crash closed his eyes, listening to the sounds coming through the ground. "One bug…"

"That one's probably in your ear," Eddie pointed out and sure enough his brother dug a mosquito out of his ear.

"Fine then," Crash returned to the ground, this time determined to prove to his brother that he could be like Buck. "Big dinosaurs to the left."

"Your other left," Eddie corrected, taking note of the large Iguanodons to their right.

"Little dinosaurs in big tree," Crash replied, pushing his head harder into the ground.

Eddie looked up at the tree closest to them. There was indeed small Compsognathus running through the lower branches. His jaw dropped in astonishment. Perhaps his brother could really do this.

"What else is there?" he now asked eagerly.

"Something's coming…" Crash stated, concentrating hard. "There are three big ones…"

"Uh, Crash," Eddie squeaked out.

"What? I'm not done," Crash grumbled. He yelped as Eddie pulled his tail. "What do you want?"

"Look," he pointed up.

Crash followed the direction of his brother's finger up to the three dinos standing before them. The one in the front was the largest and by far the meanest looking of them all.

It pulled back its lips and let out a terrifying growl. As both brothers screamed the other two in the pack lunged.

"Run! Let's get out of here!" Crash took off in the opposite direction of the Deinonychus, dragging Eddie with him.

"I can run by myself, you know!" Eddie pulled his brother's tail from around his neck and ran ahead of him.

The Deinonychus followed swiftly, two of them breaking apart from the alpha and circling around to head the possums off. The alpha cleared a log that had fallen, quickly catching up to the brothers. Screams reached his ears but it did not matter. His pack had not eaten in a while.

"Are they still behind us?" Eddie looked over his shoulder, not seeing the alpha.

"I don't think so!" Crash answered triumphantly. "Hey! We're like Buck, outrunning a whole pack of…"

He came to a screeching halt as two smaller raptors appeared from the shrubs on either side in front of them. Soon, the alpha joined them as he leapt on top of a large tree root. The sound of splintering wood rang in Crash and Eddie's ears as the killing claw on the alpha's left foot dug into the root threatening.

"I really wish there was a shooting star," Eddie whispered, huddling closer to his brother.

"Why?" Crash asked almost inaudibly.

"So that I could wish that Buck was here," he answered.

"That's a good idea," Crash agreed, his eyes having gone to the size of apples as the pack of raptors closed in.

As soon as the alpha lunged, they screamed.

"Buck!"

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**Do you like it so far? Please remember to R&R so I can know your opinion! It really means a lot to me! Thanks for reading. :)**


	7. Awake and Tired

**Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I was planning to but something happened. The something is called school. But please enjoy chapter 7!**

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**Thunder rumbled overhead, threatening to release the rain held within the ashen clouds. The plants below the towering trees shuddered as large herbivores moved about them leisurely, seeing only by the faint light of the glowing flora. Pterosaurs had sought out branches high up in the canopy to rest and their noisy chattering was more of a whisper now. It had grown late, being about two hours after midnight. The Glowing Forest was settling down, but this was when it was at its most dangerous.

Frost twisted her ears backwards, hearing her travelling companion talking. Who he was talking to she had no idea. They were on a thick, purple vine that wound around the trunk of a huge tree clear up to the top. Plants of varying sizes grew on the vine and out of the crevices of the tree.

"Who are…" she turned on her heel, coming to an abrupt halt as she beheld an odd sight before her.

"Yeah, I know," Buck said to the rock that was cradled between his ear and shoulder. "I miss you too. I'll be back by tomorrow afternoon, I promise. Okay, love you too. Good-bye." He chucked the rock over the side of the tree.

"How'd you…why…? Never mind!" Frost held up her paws and turned around, continuing to walk on. "I don't think I even want to know!"

"What?" Buck raised his brow, a curious look on his face. He followed, bracing himself on the tree as they went. Sparks of pain charged through his leg every time he took a step. Gradually the pain had gotten worse since he'd been scaling the trees with the fisher.

"We need to stop for a drink," Frost held up her paw. She reached for a big green leaf above her head, putting the tip to her lips and letting the cool water drain in.

Buck sighed in appreciation. Yes, he was hurting and pretty badly at that. No, he was not going to show or tell the fisher. Already she had insulted his survival skills and seeing his wound would make it no better.

"Hey, you need some water?" her gravelly voice brought him out of his concentration.

"Nah, lass, I'm fine," he answered, standing up straight but still not putting his full weight on his left leg.

Frost raised her head, analyzing the weasel's condition. He was holding up pretty well save for the fact that he was limping. Complaints never came from him, nor did any questioning of her rules. In fact, he had been telling her some wild tale about a herd that consisted of two mammoths and a baby, a tiger, and two possums that had been down here about two and a half months ago searching for their friend, which was a sloth. Frost didn't think she believed all of this. Returning her attention back to Buck, she noted that his fur was damp from the humidity and sweaty from the heat. She could not say much to that. Her silvery gray pelt was matted down with humidity and sweat as well.

"Ready to move?" She asked, turning and starting to scale the vine again.

"Yeah," Buck grunted, following her tail. He yawned, not caring too much to hide his tiredness. It was late and his body was telling him so. If he had been back in his home near the Jungle of Misery he'd been asleep in his hollow by now.

"How about we stop for the night?" Frost suggested before Buck could even ask.

"Sounds good to me," Buck agreed.

"There's a hollow in the tree across this vine," she got down on all fours. With practiced grace and ease she skittered across the vine that hung precariously some one hundred feet above the forest floor. She was about a third of the way out when she glanced over her shoulder. "You comin' or not?"

"Don't get your tail in a knot, I'm coming," Buck answered as he got down on three limbs, holding his injured leg up. With his knife secured in his paw, he carefully made his way out to where Frost was waiting.

"Thought you got stuck to the tree sap," she gave him a half-smile, her fangs poking out of her upper lip. Her fur stuck out at odd spiky angles, being ruffled by sweat and humidity.

Buck rolled his eye and followed. The vine was much thinner and felt much more flimsy than the giant, thick one that was wound around the towering tree behind them. It glowed a slightly turquoise-purple color and was still slick from the rain shower that had happened earlier that night.

Frost dug her claws into the vine, hoping that she could stay on. Dropping to the forest floor from this height could kill anything. Well, perhaps anything. She glanced up as she heard a shriek from some poor mammal. The calls and noisy chatters of a Deinonychus pack hunting echoed after the shrieking mammals. All were common noises in this luscious land under the ice. The yell behind her, however, was not.

Buck yelped as he lost his grip on the vine. He extended his injured leg quicker than what he wanted to, causing an eruption of pain to come from it. Over the side he went, hanging by one paw which was slipping.

Frost scurried back over to the weasel, pouncing on his paw. He slipped and she pitched forwards to catch him.

"It seems like I'm having bad déjà vu," she grunted as her feet barely caught the both of them.

Buck gritted his teeth. Twice it had been now that Frost had saved his tail and it made him seem like a weakling. He sighed, knowing that he would have been able to prove that he could take care of himself if his leg was not hurt. Easily he pulled himself up her body then reached down to help her. He straddled the vine as his muscles strained to pull up the relatively stocky fisher.

Frost reached up, her paw brushing against the leaf tied around Buck's thigh. Slowly but surely she got upright and back on top of the vine. Both of them were panting, the humidity and heat making usual tasks so much more challenging.

"Well then," Frost brushed off her paws. However, she paused when out of the corner of her eye she caught to sight of red staining them. Narrowing her eyes, she glanced at the leaf around Buck's leg. Blood webbed underneath it and through his fur, slicking the leaf as well. "What'd you do to your leg?"

"Uh…" Buck grimaced as he carefully put a paw on the wrapped wound. "Got stabbed by a rock spire at the bottom of the Glowing Falls."

"You fell off the Glowing Falls?" Frost's eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped. "And you lived?"

"No, I was killed," Buck sneered sarcastically, his mood becoming sour as the pain spread from his leg up to his hips and abdomen. "Yes, I lived."

Frost snarled. Both of them were tired and they were starting to gripe at each other. With one last glance at his leg she turned and started to creep to the other tree.

"C'mon, we need to get some sleep," she called over her shoulder. "And you have to let me look at that leg of yours."

Buck got down on three limbs again, this time being extra careful not to slip. A roaring echoed out over the forest, making his ears twitch in the direction of where it came from. He glanced down at his knife, still securely held in his left paw.

Flowers that stood at the end of the vine pulled in, disappearing into little green buds as the two got closer. Frost stood up straight, offering her paw to Buck. Grudgingly he took it only to help get himself upright, but then let go. Pterosaurs watched them with wary, beady eyes. Their hides were a slightly glowing camouflage that would match the forest if something were to fly above them. The underside of their wings and their bellies, however, were creamy hues of blues, purples, yellows, and oranges that echoed with a soft light.

Frost pulled up, grabbing onto a vine that grew in a niche in the tree. A hollow was about five feet above her head. Her claws on her feet dug into the bark as she hauled herself up.

Buck watched as the fisher disappeared into the hollow, only her tail hanging out. Her face replaced her tail as she turned around, looking down at him.

"Are you coming up?" She perked an eyebrow.

"Hold your dinos, lass," Buck said, using his strong arms to pull himself up. He was afraid to use his leg in fear that he would do more damage to it.

Frost offered her paw to the weasel, simply letting it drop when he refused. If he was going to be in a foul mood, than she could be twice as worse. She could show him the meanest mammal alive.

"Let me see that leg," she whispered hoarsely. Already her throat was dry from that short bit of time when she'd taken a drink.

"I'm fine," Buck stated, sitting in the back of the roomy hollow.

"Let…me…see…your…leg…now," Frost commanded slowly, her voice covered in a thick layer of ice. Just as she had planned, the weasel gave her a look of surprise at her forcefulness.

"Do you even know what you're doing, lass?" Buck questioned softly, not wanting to irritate her again.

"I know what I'm doing," Frost answered quietly as she unwrapped the bloody leaf.

The gouge was deep and still looked fresh. From when he had stretched it a little too quickly, it was just beginning to clot. Frost cringed slightly as she pushed away matted fur to get a better look at the wound.

"Don't bite me," she said quickly as she started to gently put pressure along certain spots on his thigh.

"Right there," Buck hissed, his ears laying flat against his skull. "That's where it hurts the most."

"Hmm…" Frost narrowed her eyes, digging through the herbal knowledge that she had stowed away in the back of her mind so long ago.

A terrifying shriek of some mammals reached the two's ears. Together they leaned forward as a look of recognition came across Buck's face.

"That's the possum brothers!" He looked at Frost who had raised her brow. "They're the two that were down here with the mammoths and the tiger."

"Crash and…Eddie, right?" Frost asked, realization coming across her features. "That's the call of a Deinonychus pack."

"We 'ave to help them," Buck said in determination.

"Oh no, you're staying here," Frost put her paw on his chest, keeping him in the hollow. "You're more of a hindrance than a help with that leg of yours. I'll go get them."

"But…"

"So help me, if you try to follow me I will knock you unconscious with a rock!"

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**So, I hope you enoyed this chapter. The next chapter will bring Crash, Eddie, Frost, and Buck all together and then chapter 9 will start to bring in the other herd members. Please remember to R&R! Thank you! :)**


	8. Rescue

**So...here's chapter 8! School's been in my way and it's been a busy weekend but I managed to get this small chapter finished. Enjoy! :)**

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Crash and Eddie gaped in awe as a giant plant, being nearly fifteen feet tall, opened up. It was pink and fleshy on the inside but glowing green with faint blue stripes on the outside. A row of strong hair like stems lined each side of its mouth. The alpha Deinonychus never stood a chance. It looked over its shoulder, just starting to jump as the Venus flytrap snapped it up. Slowly, the plant rose back up and held the flailing raptor in its 'jaws'.

"Holy smokes," Eddie's jaw dropped, not caring too much about the now nervous chirps of the female raptors behind him and his brother. He had seen Venus flytraps before but never ones of that size.

"Let's run while they're distracted," Crash pulled his brother's arm.

Eddie dove down on all fours, chasing after Crash. Only now did the remaining raptors realize that their quarry was escaping. It didn't take very long for the females to catch up to the possums.

"Do the zigzag!" Crash yelled, narrowly avoiding the snapping jaws of one of the beasts.

Eddie jerked hard to the left, powerful teeth clamping shut where he had been moments ago. He could feel the raptor behind him, her hot breath on his tail. He dashed suddenly to the right, missing her jaws. Back and forth the two went, managing to confuse and avoid the huntresses.

A cliff face that shot straight up out of the forest floor brought their running to a halt. They had reached the point at where the Lower Glowing Forest met with the Upper Glowing Forest. Crash and Eddie turned around to face the raptors.

"I love you bro," Eddie whispered, eyes wide with fear.

"I know," Crash answered.

* * *

Frost stopped, hearing the nervous chirping from a pair of Deinonychus. Judging by how defused the sound was, she was still a far ways off. If the two brothers were being attacked by a pack of raptors there was no way she could make it there in time. It was too hard of terrain to travel very fast. The forest floor was faster, but more dangerous.

"Jus' my luck," Frost bared her fangs in a smirk as she spotted large herbivores down below.

A Parasaurolophus lifted its head lazily. Chewing on some leaves, it barely noticed the fisher slipping down a vine above its head. It stood on its hind legs, reaching up to the delicate yellow flowers hanging down from a purple vine that wrapped around a tree.

Frost hung upside down, her feet gripping the mossy vine tightly. She pulled a thin vine from around her shoulders, loosening the noose. Ever so silently she lowered it down around the head of the dinosaur.

The Parasaurolophus looked up, the flowers falling from its mouth. It jerked its head away a little too late. Bellowing through the cavity in its head, it alerted the rest of its herd.

Several glowing herbivores lifted their heads, halting their eating and starting to scatter. Frost yelped as she dropped down on the back of the dino. She gripped both ends of the makeshift reigns in her paws, sinking between the neck and shoulders of the creature.

"Steady girl, steady," she said soothingly, patting the herbivore's glowing hide. "C'mon, now. We have a mission."

* * *

Crash and Eddie shivered in terror as the two female Deinonychus closed in. Their teeth chattered together; Eddie was even chewing his claws down to a nub. Pterosaurs shrieked in the forest and several shot out of the canopy into the late night sky.

The twins turned to each other as the raptors turned their heads, looking back into the denser forest. Both females seemed concerned, judging by the rapid clicks and chirps that were being exchanged between them.

"What're they saying?" Eddie whispered, leaning in Crash.

"I don't know. I don't speak dinosaur," Crash replied, shrugging his shoulders.

A sharp bellowing, like that of a battle cry, echoed from the dense foliage. The sound of falling plants and breaking saplings got closer as whatever the raptors had been fretting about approached.

A large glowing orange creature with vibrant pink stripes crashed out of the trees. It sounded a warning through the bony crest on its head as it reared up on its hind legs. The raptors screeched, their golden eyes having gone wide with fear. They skittered out of the way as the giant herbivore crashed back down.

Crash and Eddie glanced behind the side of the Parasaurolophus, seeing the retreating tails of the Deinonychus. Slowly, they raised their eyes up the front legs of the herbivore, finally looking high enough to see into the beast's deep brown eyes.

"Uh…hi," Eddie cautiously raised his paw and waved at the creature.

It looked at him dumbfounded.

"Hi," said a gravelly voice coming from the Parasaurolophus.

"Woe, you can talk?" Crash's arms dropped down by his sides, awestruck.

"Yeah," the voice answered.

"That's so cool!" Eddie jumped up and down, excited by a talking dinosaur.

"No, not really," the voice replied.

"What do you mean? You're a talking dinosaur!" Crash raised his arms up, gesturing to the massive bulk of the herbivore.

"Up here genius," the voice said, irritated.

Crash and Eddie scooted to the side, looking in the crook between the neck and shoulders of the dinosaur. Sure enough, there sat a silvery gray pelted mammal.

"Who are you?" Eddie questioned, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What are you?" Crash narrowed his eyes at her.

"Rude, aren't we?" she growled, baring sharp fangs. "Frost's the name, fisher's the species."

"Do you live down here?" Crash asked, relaxing a bit.

"Yes," Frost laid the reigns down, placing her paws on her hips.

"No way! No one but Buck can live down here," Eddie objected, raising his finger.

"No one but Buck can live in the rest of Dino Terra; no one but _me_ can live in the Glowing Forest," Frost corrected. "Now get on. We have to get back to the hollow. It's too dangerous to stay on the forest floor for long."

"How can we be sure that you're not going to feed us to your pet dinosaur?" Crash questioned as he put a paw under his chin.

"Well, for one this is a plant eater," Frost said slowly, her patience wearing thinner than she thought possible. "And two, if you don't get on those raptors will come back and finish the job."

"Good point," Eddie zipped up the leg of the Parasaurolophus, sitting atop its shoulders.

Crash followed, perching himself by his brother. They rocked back and forth as the powerful muscles beneath the rough hide moved as the herbivore started to walk where Frost was leading it.

After a few minutes of silence, Eddie said, "I wish we could see Buck while we're down here."

"Yeah, he's probably off fighting Rudy though," Crash agreed, a look of longing in his eyes.

"Buck? He's back in the hollow," Frost added in, looking over her shoulder. "He got himself hurt and lost in this forest of mine."

"No way! There's no way that Buck got lost!" Crash said, his mood getting riled.

"And there's no way he got hurt!" Eddie threw in.

Soon they fired off a barrage of questions.

"How'd he get hurt?"

"Has he fought Rudy recently?"

"How bad is he hurt?"

"Does he still have his knife?"

"How much farther to the hollow?"

Frost shook her head, wishing that she had never told them Buck was with her. Soon enough, he could answer all of their questions. Before the twins knew it, she pulled the creature to a halt. As she jumped off, removing the reigns, and started to scale the one hundred foot climb up to the hollow the twins followed.

"This may take a while!"

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**So, what'd you think? Please remember to R&R! It's the only way I know what you think of it! Thanks for reading! :)**


	9. Trouble

**Guess who's alive! I am! Well, since I found some time I thought that I'd post this short chapter. I know, it's been...like...forever since I last posted a chapter, but please enjoy! :)**

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Ellie rolled over, her green eyes flittering open. The sky was at its darkest, like it always was right before dawn. She glanced over to the sapling close to the overhanging rock where her 'brothers' usually slept. Still they were gone.

"Manny," she whispered, nudging her mate. When he did not respond she tried again. "Manny!"

Still no movement came from the bull mammoth, not even a twitch. Resorting to cruder methods, Ellie balled up her trunk and slugged Manny in the shoulder.

"Wha….?" Manny rubbed the blurriness from his eyes with sluggish movements of his trunk. "Are you alright?"

"Crash and Eddie are still gone," Ellie nodded to the sapling. "I'm worried about them."

"I'm sure they're fine," Manny stated before turning his head away and settling down again.

Ellie growled, giving her mate a hard shove with her tusks. When she received a peeved look she replied, "At least go check and see if they're still in the caves."

"Alright, alright!" Manny stood up, groaning at the nippy air at this time in the morning.

"Where are you going?" Diego stood up, his yellow-green eyes illuminated in the sharp dark.

"To go find Crash and Eddie," Manny grumbled as he started to plod off to the caves, vision being impaired by the night.

There was a mumble and a yawn. Both mammals turned at the sound of feet shuffling towards them. A sloth was following the two.

"I'll go too," Sid said, catching up to Diego.

"Wow Sid, you're actually awake before the sun," Manny stated, following Diego who had taken the lead.

"Well, I couldn't let Ellie be upset forever about her brothers if they didn't return," Sid answered simply.

"Wouldn't that be nice," Diego mumbled half dreamily, thinking about how it would be without those pesky possums around.

* * *

"Well, they're not here," Manny shrugged, barely taking a glance at the dark ceiling of the cave. "Let's go back."

"Wait a sec," Diego said as he stalked further into the darkness, his eyes piercing it easily. "I can scent it. They went this way, and then just disappeared."

"Did they climb the walls?" Sid asked as he turned his gaze upwards to the glowing mushroom mounted on the rock ledges.

"I think so," the saber muttered under his breath, standing on his hind legs to find the scent trail again. "Yeah, they climbed and then disappeared."

"Through the ceiling?" Manny questioned and furrowed his brows.

"Nah, I'm guessing they went through the floor," he turned his head down to the gaping hole left by a giant rock that probably fell.

"Makes sense," Sid nodded and wiped the sleep away from his eyes. "What do we do now?"

That question was answered as a few rocks vibrated off the ledges high above their heads as a tremor took place. With a tremendous crack, the ground around them sunk to a lower level.

"Not good," Sid said tensely as the floor continued to shift and creak.

"Oh boy!" Diego yelped as the floor fell away completely, leaving the three mammals to drop down into the world below them.

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**Well, here comes more trouble. Sorry for the shortness, but I just needed to post something. Thanks for reading and don't forget to R&R! :)**


	10. Herbs and Falling

**What is this?! I've updated?! Enjoy while I try to work on multiple things right now. :P**

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Frost slid onto the floor of the hollow, huffing from the long climb. Lifting her head up and seeing Buck staring at her with an unimpressed expression, she pushed herself upright.

"You better be prepared to be mauled," she said ominously as both brothers arrived at the entrance.

"Buck!"

"Careful, lads!" he warned them before they could jump on him. They shrank back a little, remembering that he had an injury. He didn't mean to be harsh, he was just tired and in pain.

"Are you okay, Buck?" Eddie asked softly as he approached the weasel at a much more reasonable speed.

"Jus' a little banged up," Buck smirked his classic crooked smirk. "I'll be fine lads. But now tell me, what are you two doing down here again?"

"Well…." Crash drawled out, looking down at his feet.

"We were going to play a prank on Sid," Eddie said.

"And then the cave we were in started to collapse," Crash added in.

"And we fell through the floor and wound up here. Then we tried to find you and wound up in this forest," Eddie finished, crossing his arms as if to make it official.

"We would've been able to handle ourselves if _she_ hadn't intervened," Crash jerked his thumb to the fisher who had been standing quietly by the entrance.

"That's a load of crap," Frost hissed, pushing her way between the twins. "I need to take care of his leg so it doesn't become infected."

"You better not hurt him," Eddie warned as the frosty mammal kneeled down.

"What could I possibly gain from hurting him more than what he already is?" Frost looked up at the possum, her green eyes glinting wickedly. "Alright, tough guy, let's see what's wrong here."

Buck refused to hiss or even twitch with the pain as the fisher probed his leg a little less than gently. Already he had allowed himself to be shown as weak in the eyes of her; he wasn't going to ruin the possums' view of him. But slowly his eye began to falter in its harsh stare as the face of the female started to contort from ornery to concerned.

"You got this from falling over the falls, right?" she asked, biting her lower lip.

"Aye, lass," Buck replied slowly, pulling his leg back underneath him as the fisher ran a paw through the long, spiky fur atop her head.

"Don't move, I'll be back," Frost dashed out of the hollow, leaving the trio bewildered.

Crash and Eddie shared a look and disappeared out of the entrance, dashing along the vine that wound and wrapped around the massive tree. Together they ducked and weaved over giant flowers and other vines in their search for the surprisingly elusive fisher.

"Man, where do you think she went?" Eddie asked as the possum brothers pulled to a halt.

"Well, she couldn't have gone far," Crash said. "She did say that she was going to be back."

"She could've lied," Eddie pointed out.

"Maybe she wants to get rid of Buck," Crash rubbed his chin thoughtfully, as if this were an actual possibility.

"Or maybe, she went to find some herbs so that Buck doesn't lose the feeling in his leg," another voice added in.

"Nah, I don't think she'd be that smart," Crash dismissed it with an airy wave of his paw. "Even I can't tell what plant is what."

"Up here, genius," the voice spoke again.

"Oh, hi," Crash and Eddie both said as they turned their heads skyward to see the fisher hanging from a branch that was just above a massive bunch of flowers.

"So, you're either really bad at getting away quick or you're not trying to get rid of Buck," Eddie surmised, still looking up at the scarred face of Frost looking down at him.

"Conspiracy theorists," she mumbled as she continued to gather the nectar from the center of the flowers.

"Heard that!" Eddie shouted.

"Whatever a conspiracy theorist is," Crash muttered.

"You two should either bug off or help me get those yellow flowers way out there on that vine," Frost pointed towards the little blooms that were draped over a vine that hung precariously off the edge of the tree over the forest floor some two or three hundred feet below.

"What if you want to get rid of us too?" Crash questioned.

"Sure," Frost rolled her eyes, flipping upright on the vine. "Anyways, I don't think either of you surface dwellers could get them even if you wanted to."

"Lies! I could totally get those!" Eddie objected.

"Not if I get them first!" Crash laughed, zipping around the vine out towards the delicate flowers.

"No guy can resist a challenge," Frost murmured, chuckling as she climbed up the tree higher to collect the other things she was going to need.

* * *

"Well, that was something I had hoped we wouldn't be doing ever again," Manny grunted and stood up shakily after landing in the dirt from the ride down. At least the giant leaves of the sky high trees had broken the trio's fall.

"Look at the bright side, Manny, we're taking an early vacation," Sid gave him a lopsided grin.

"At least we know some of the locals," Diego said as he shook the dirt from his pelt.

"But how do we get back up?" Manny asked, looking up at the small hole in the ceiling of the lushes land under the ice. "Buck sealed off the only other way out."

"Maybe there's another way," Sid suggested. "If there is, I'm sure Buck would know where it is."

"I hate to say it, but Sid's right," Diego shrugged. "Buck would be the only one who would know where another way out is."

"Well, let's find Buck," Manny started to walk away into the thick vegetation.

"What about Crash and Eddie?" Sid asked, nearly tripping over his own feet trying to catch up with them.

"We'll just say that they decided to move to the subtropics," Diego chortled, dashing ahead of the sloth and mammoth to pick up the scent trail.

"And I might as well not return home, because you've seen Ellie when she's in a mood," Manny said, cutting a line across his neck with his trunk.

"Nah, I think she would just-"

"Don't even say what I think you were going to say, Sid," Manny whacked the sloth across the top of the head.

"Hey! Hush up! Something's coming this way," Diego paused, nose lifted to the air and ears pricked forward.

"What is it?" Sid asked quietly, coming to a halt beside the saber.

The pebbles on the ground rattled as a sound like thunder echoed through the ground. There was another, right after the other. And another. Footsteps. They were giant footsteps coming in their direction. The fog on the edge of the forest was incredibly thick, allowing the trio to only see the shadow of a beast that should have been long dead.

"Rudy," the three of them whispered.

It cocked its head to the side. It was way too high up in the clouds and fog to see properly, but one eye cut through the fog like the moon did at night.

"Run," Diego grunted as the shifting orb caught them in its orange stare.

The monstrous mouth cracked open and a sound like nothing on the planet unleashed, rustling the leaves and blowing the fur on the mammals as they took off at a break neck speed for the cliffs.

"If Rudy's here, that means Buck's here, right?" Sid asked, tripping over a tangle of tree roots.

A foot with massive talons slammed down mere feet from where he fell. The pebbles skittered away as a gust of hot breath blew down on him. Coughing from the stench, he prepared to be eaten as a trunk wrapped around his neck and carried him away from the jaws that bore down into the dirt.

"No time for napping!" Manny yelled.

Diego was standing at the edge of the cliff precariously, and had no time to warn the mammoth that was charging at him full speed. All three of them tumbled over the side just as giant claws scythed through the air at them as they fell.

The beast roared in frustration, turning back into the fog, the giant sail on its back disappearing along with the rest of it.

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